In return to field, Jeffress shows talent and fire

ARLINGTON — Jeremy Jeffress is back now, as he puts it, “playing the game I love.”

Life has not been an unbroken series of triumphs for Jeffress, but when he is right, he can throw 96-97 mph, with serious sink. He has a power arm, with imposing stuff.

This is the kind of combination that could be really helpful for his current employer, the Texas Rangers, especially with the postseason beckoning. That talent and the fact that Jeffress is a completely likable fellow tell you why Rangers players were so excited to see Jeffress back on the mound on Monday night, after an absence of more than a month.

• Jeffress turns in 1 1/3 scoreless frames in return

“Everybody was happy to see me,” Jeffress said on Tuesday in an interview with MLB.com. “They’ve been pulling for me the whole way. You know, I was gone for 30-something days, and everybody was happy to see me out there doing my job.”

The downside with Jeffress has been substance abuse. He was arrested on Aug. 26 and charged with driving while intoxicated. Twice during his Minor League career, the right-hander was suspended after testing positive for marijuana. After the DWI arrest, he checked into a substance abuse treatment facility.

Jeffress came out with a perspective that was healthy.

“I’ve been through some ups and downs, basically my whole career,” Jeffress said, “but it’s how you bounce back, what you do from then on, moving forward. I’m just putting everything behind me. I’m still making sure I’m good, making sure my head is right. I’ll be fine, take it day by day.”

Monday night at Globe Life Park was a mixture of joy and relief for Jeffress and the Rangers. He was back on the mound and paused for a moment, he later said, to take it all in: the field, the …

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